House debates
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Questions without Notice
Donations To Political Parties
2:59 pm
Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
This is a question for the Prime Minister. Voters have a right to know who is funding their candidates before they vote.
Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Real-time disclosure of all my donations.
The government has a longstanding commitment to real-time disclosure—
Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member will resume her seat. The same rules apply to everyone. There's going to be silence so questions can be heard. No matter what's being said, the questioner has to be heard in silence. That goes for everyone in the chamber. The member for Curtin will start her question again.
Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Voters have a right to know who is funding their candidates before they vote. The government has a longstanding commitment to real-time disclosure of political donations over $1,000, but this hasn't happened, because the government has indicated it wants opposition support on electoral reform. Time is running out to implement transparency before the next election. Why won't the government make good on its promise and pass this legislation immediately with crossbench support in both houses? We need transparency now.
3:00 pm
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank the member for Curtin for her question and for her genuine commitment to transparency. We have, through our minister, engaged in good-natured, good-faith discussion with the crossbenches but also with the opposition because we want to put in place electoral reform that lasts over a period of time, that doesn't seek to secure a political advantage for any particular side of politics or, indeed, for independents running either. I've had representation, as you would be aware, in meetings I've had with the crossbench but otherwise as well from people who've been supportive of the crossbench being enlarged, if I could put it that way, by people who put forward different positions with regard to the range of transparency measures which we have historically supported.
We do support disclosure for all donations above $1,000. That's something that we, in fact, had in place, but it got changed by the former coalition government. It's something that we think is entirely appropriate. It is important to have faith in the political system that we know where donations are coming from. The billionaires funding the Advance campaign of misinformation at the moment are a great example of where it is appropriate to have—
Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! Members on my left. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thought they had nothing to do with the banks—nothing to do with them at all! It's a very coordinated campaign. It's an example where you see a bloke who's trying to smile more and be a little bit nicer and less nasty has the more overt nasty stuff being run by the Advance campaign so he can just run the little-bit-nasty stuff.
It is important that transparency occurs. We're committed to it. We've received the JSCEM report. We look forward to acting on it, but we do want to act in a way that brings the maximum amount of support for it, because the fact is that, on a range of issues—I can think of at least two that have been raised today—because of the coalition of the Liberals and the Greens blocking them, we can't get things through the Senate. That's why we want to reach out across the chamber to make sure that any proposals are carried— (Time expired)